Political Science Department Faculty & Staff

Richard Barberio is an Americanist with a focus on political institutions--especially the Presidency--and public policy. His doctoral work was in the area of political psychology as it pertains to the role of ideology in political participation. Over time, his research and teaching interests have branched out to include an emphasis on the public policy process, resulting in the publication of a textbook, The Politics of Public Policy. His current research on political scandal builds directly on his established work with the “public presidency.” He has also written and taught on the politics of protest and social movements in the U.S. and has a continuing interest in the use of the novel and other forms of fiction as tools for political exploration.

Robert W. Compton, Jr., (Ph.D.) is a scholar of Comparative Politics with specializations in political development in Southern Africa and East Asia. He teaches for Political Science and Africana and Latino Studies (ALS) departments in the areas of African Politics; East Asian Politics; and International Political Economy. His research interests converge on issues of political development, nationalism, and political economy in those regions and comparatively. A Fulbright Scholar to Zimbabwe (2008), he also provides consulting services in the area of political development (Zimbabwe and Uganda) with the Center for International Development (SUNY-CID).

Compton is the author and editor of several books including Dynamics of Community Formation, eds. Compton, Robert, Ho Hon Leung, and Yaser Robles, (Palgrave-MacMillan, 2018); Imagining Globalization, eds. Leung, Ho Hon, Matthew Hendley, Robert Compton, and Brian Haley, (Palgrave-MacMillan, 2009); Transforming East Asian Domestic and International Politics, editor (Ashgate, 2002); and East Asian Democratization (Praeger, 2000). Peer reviewed articles and review essays have appeared in Regions and Cohesion, Praxis: Journal of Gender and Cultural Critique, The Journal of African Policy Studies, International Journal on World Peace, and Asian Profile.

Brett Heindl has a Ph.D. in Political Science from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. His research looks at the intersection of human rights, migration, and religion. He is particularly interested in how immigration influences governmental treatment of religious minorities. He is also working on projects on refugee resettlement and immigrant integration in rural New York and on climate change-induced migration in the Andes.

Peter A. LaVenia, Jr. has a PhD in Political Science from the University at Albany, SUNY. His research focuses on the intersection between democratic theory, political parties, and Marxism, in particular the question of oligarchy within political organizations found in the writings of thinkers such as James Bryce, Rosa Luxemburg, Robert Michels, and Max Weber. He teaches courses in Modern Political Thought, Understanding Political Ideas, and Social Movements.

LaVenia is a longtime organizer and activist. He has served as co-chair of the Green Party of New York for over a decade, helping guide the party’s political strategy on electoral campaigns and movement issues like climate change and the Green New Deal, antiwar efforts, criminal justice reform, electoral reform, hydrofracking, immigrant rights, labor, living wages, marijuana legalization, and single-payer healthcare. He has appeared as the party’s spokesperson multiple times on programs such as Capital Tonight and Capitol Pressroom and has been quoted in papers such as the Albany Times Union, NY Daily News, and NY Newsday. A seasoned campaign manager, he directed Matthew J. Funiciello’s Congressional run in NY-21 and Mark Dunlea’s bid for NY State Comptroller and has run for office himself. LaVenia has also been an organizer-researcher for consumer activist Ralph Nader. His political writings have appeared in Counterpunch, Jacobin, and the NY Daily News.

Matt Murphy offers courses in core Comparative and IR topics such as problems of regime change, ethnic conflict, war, and international law & organizations. His research focuses on problems of regime change and post-conflict stability, including "transitional justice" or dealing with the legacies of an authoritarian or violent past. Ongoing research projects concern the effects of transitional justice policies, such as criminal prosecution and screening/lustration, on outcomes such as democracy, human rights, regime consolidation, and political identity. He has a Ph.D. in Political Science from UC San Diego, is a lifelong Oakland A’s fan, and is strangely fascinated with the planet Mars.

Bill Wilkerson, Professor, has a Ph.D. in political science from the University at Albany. He studies American politics with an emphasis on law and courts. His research focuses on the salience of the US Supreme Court and the decisions it hands down with the American public using social media data. He occasionally blogs at Active Learning in Political Science. Wilkerson regularly teaches US Government, Civil Rights and Liberties, American Constitutional Development, Law Courts and Politics and Approaches to Political Science (research methods). Outside of work Wilkerson enjoys mountain and road biking, running, reading mysteries and watching soccer.